KR20230090609A - Disposable sham acupuncture and using method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a disposable sham acupuncture device and a using method thereof. The disposable sham acupuncture device according to the present invention comprises: a body; a guide which is coupled to the body so as to be movable within the body; a needle which is coupled to the guide and moves along with the guide; and a spring which is coupled to the body and the guide, to provide restoring force to the guide. According to the present invention, it is impossible for a recipient to distinguish whether the acupuncture being provided as a treatment is real acupuncture or sham acupuncture, so that a complete double-blind state can be secured, and the sham acupuncture device can be stably maintained while coming in contact with the skin.

Description

Disposable false acupuncture and its use method {DISPOSABLE SHAM ACUPUNCTURE AND USING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a disposable dummy needle and a method of using the same, and more particularly, to a dummy needle that can be used in a double-blind test together with a real needle to objectively prove the effect of a needle and a method of using the same.

Acupuncture is a treatment that has been practiced for more than 2,000 years in East Asia, including Korea, Japan, and China. As interest in and use of acupuncture's clinical effects increase, attempts to scientifically interpret its mode of action and mechanism are gradually increasing.

Therefore, the need for objective evidence on the effects of acupuncture is emphasized, and accordingly, evidence-based clinical studies on acupuncture treatment based on randomized controlled studies to verify the effects of acupuncture have begun to increase.

In the initial clinical study of acupuncture treatment, when setting up a control group, the existing treatment or no treatment group for each disease was used and compared with the acupuncture treatment group. However, as the claim that the placebo phenomenon should be excluded when verifying the effect of acupuncture treatment was raised, various types of false acupuncture began to be used as a control group.

However, the conventional false acupuncture did not properly blind the recipient, so there were many cases in which the recipient could recognize whether the acupuncture they were receiving was false or real, making it difficult to conduct a proper randomized control experiment.

In addition, the existing false acupuncture needles are often separated without being stably maintained in a state in contact with the skin.

Korea Intellectual Property Office Registration No. 10-1661748 (2016.09.26)

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a disposable false acupuncture needle and a method of using the same, in which it is impossible for a person to be treated with the naked eye to distinguish whether the acupuncture needle is a real needle or a false needle.

In particular, it is to provide a disposable false acupuncture needle and a method of using the same that can secure a more complete double-blind condition since it is difficult for the operator to ascertain which is a real needle and which is a false needle.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a disposable false needle that can be stably maintained in a state in contact with the skin.

The disposable false acupuncture needle of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art consists of the following configuration.

body;

a guide coupled to the body so as to be movable within the body;

a needle coupled to the guide and moving together with the guide; and

A spring coupled to the body and the guide to provide restoring force to the guide.

The body has a hollow body shape including a pillar and a bottom portion. The bottom of the body is a part in contact with the skin of the person to be treated, and has a through hole through which a needle passes. The upper part of the body is open, and a guide is coupled to this part.

A hub accommodating portion extending from the bottom to the top is formed inside the body. The hub accommodating part extends coaxially with the pillar and has a hollow shape, and the upper part is open. A hub may be inserted into it.

In addition, an extension portion protruding outward in a circumferential direction may be formed at the bottom portion of the body along the circumference of the bottom portion. Accordingly, stable attachment can be achieved by increasing the contact area with the skin.

The guide is a part pressed by the operator and guides the movement of the needle. The guide is configured in the form of a hollow cylinder with an upper part closed and a lower part open. In a preferred embodiment, the guide comprises an outer wall and a pressing portion.

The outer wall of the guide is a portion fitted to the body. The pressing part is an upper part that is pressed during the procedure, and a hub is fixedly coupled to the inner surface thereof. Therefore, the guide, the hub, and the needle coupled to the hub move integrally within the body.

The needle is fixedly coupled to the hub. The hub supports the needle and is preferably formed in a rivet shape including a hub body and a hub head. The needle is formed to a length capable of slightly protruding from the lower part of the hub body through the through-hole of the bottom part in a state in which the guide is pressed, so as to impart only pain sensation without being inserted into the skin.

The spring is fitted to the outer circumference of the hub receiving portion of the body. The upper end of the spring is maintained in contact with the inner surface of the pressing part of the guide, and the lower part is supported in contact with the bottom part of the body.

Meanwhile, an adhesive sheet may be coupled to the bottom of the body to stably fix the needle to the skin. A release paper is attached to the adhesive sheet, and the release paper is removed during the procedure and brought into contact with the skin.

In addition, an elastic body may be mounted in the hub accommodating portion of the body. When the guide descends, the elastic body comes in contact with the lower part of the hub to mitigate the impact of the hub directly contacting the bottom part and also to control the sudden movement of the needle.

On the other hand, the present invention provides a method of using the disposable false needle having the above-described configuration consisting of the following steps.

lowering the guide within the body by the operator's pressure;

The needle coupled to the guide descends together with the guide to come into contact with the skin of the person being treated; and

The step of returning the guide and needle to their original positions according to the restoring force of the spring by the release of pressure by the operator.

According to the disposable false acupuncture needle of the present invention having such a configuration and the method of using the same, when the operator presses the pressing part of the guide, the guide descends, so that the lower end of the needle coupled to the hub comes into contact with the skin of the person to be operated on to give a feeling of pain.

In this state, when the operator removes the pressurization by releasing his hand holding the pressing part, the guide and the needle coupled to the guide through the hub return to the original position by the elasticity of the spring. Therefore, in practice, the needle does not remain inserted into the skin of the person being treated. In addition, this operation occurs inside the false needle and cannot be confirmed from the outside, so that the subject recognizes that the needle is actually inserted, and a double-blind test can be performed.

According to the disposable false acupuncture needle and the method of using the same according to the present invention, the following effects are obtained.

Since it is impossible for the recipient to distinguish whether the acupuncture needle they receive is a real needle or a false needle, there is an effect of providing perfect blinding in a randomized control experiment. In addition, it is difficult for the operator to determine which is a real needle and which is a false needle, so a more complete double-blind state can be secured.

In addition, since the dummy needle is stably maintained in a state in contact with the skin, blindness can be maintained.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a disposable dummy needle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the disposable dummy needle shown in FIG. 1;
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using a disposable false needle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the disposable false acupuncture needle of FIG. 1 is placed on the skin of a subject.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the disposable dummy needle of FIG. 4 is pressed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dummy needle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the dummy needle shown in FIG.

The false needle 10 according to the present embodiment includes a body 100, a guide 200, a needle 300, a spring 400, and an adhesive sheet 500.

The body 100 is basically a hollow body shape including a pillar 105 and a bottom portion 110, and the material is synthetic resin. The bottom portion 110 is a portion in contact with the skin of the person to be treated, and has a through hole 112 through which the needle 300 passes. A hub accommodating portion 130 extending upward from the bottom portion 110 is formed inside the body 100 . The hub accommodating portion 130 extends coaxially with the pillar 105 and has a hollow shape and an open top. A hub 310 to be described later is inserted into this.

Since the upper part of the body 100 is open, the guide 200 is coupled to this part. It is preferable that the diameter of the pillar 105 of the body 100 is slightly widened as it goes downward to facilitate the coupling and movement of the guide 200 . A hooking portion 122 is formed along the circumference of the inner wall of the pillar 105 to prevent the guide 200 from being separated. In addition, the extension part 114 protruding in the circumferential direction is formed on the bottom part 110 of the body 100, thereby increasing the contact surface with the skin to enable stable contact.

Meanwhile, an adhesive sheet 500 is attached to the lower surface of the bottom portion 110 of the body 100 . The adhesive sheet 500 has a disc shape in which the portion through which the needle 300 passes is hollow. A release paper is attached to the adhesive sheet 500 . A handle 510 is formed on the release paper to facilitate separation from the adhesive sheet 500 .

The guide 200 guides the movement of the needle 300 as a part pressed by the operator. The guide 200 has a closed top and is configured in a hollow cylindrical shape. The material of the guide 200 is not limited and is synthetic resin in this embodiment. The guide 200 includes an outer wall 210 and a pressing part 220 . The guide 200 is preferably formed such that its diameter slightly widens as it goes downward to facilitate insertion into the body 100 and movement within the body 100 .

The outer wall 210 of the guide 200 is a portion fitted to the body 100. A protrusion 212 that can be engaged with the hooking portion 122 formed on the inner wall of the pillar 105 of the body 100 is formed along the circumference of the lower outer portion of the outer wall 210 .

The pressing part 220 is a part that the operator presses to press the false acupuncture needle. A hub 310 is fixedly coupled to the inner surface of the pressing part 220 . Accordingly, the guide 200, the hub 310, and the needle 300 fixed to the hub 310 move integrally.

The guide 200 of this configuration is inserted into the body 100 and can move together with the needle 300 with respect to the body 100 .

Needle 300 is formed of metal, preferably stainless steel. The needle 300 is inserted into the guide 200 together with the hub 310 and moves integrally with the guide 200 .

The hub 310 serves to support the needle 300 . In this embodiment, the hub 310 is composed of a hub body 312 and a hub head 314 above the hub body 312, and has a rivet shape as a whole. A hole into which the needle 300 is inserted is formed in the lower portion of the hub 310 . In this embodiment, the inside of the hub body 312 is empty except for the lower part where the needle is coupled, so that the needle can be easily inserted. However, the whole may be in the form of a solid so that the fixation of the needle is reliable. The needle 300 is inserted into and fixed to the lower part of the hub body 312 . At this time, the needle 300, in order to be suitable for imparting only pain sensation without being inserted into the skin, the through hole of the bottom part 110 from the lower part of the hub body 312 in a state in which the guide 200 is pressurized. It is formed to a length that can protrude 1.8 mm through (112).

The spring 400 is provided to provide a restoring force to return the guide 200 to its original position after a procedure is performed by applying pressure to the guide 200 . The material of the spring 400 is not limited and may be made of metal or synthetic resin. The spring 400 is fitted to the outer circumference of the hub accommodating portion 130 of the body 100 . The upper end of the spring 400 is supported by the inner surface of the pressing part 220 of the guide 200, and the lower end is supported by the bottom part 110 of the body 100.

According to this configuration, the spring 400 is stably supported inside the false acupuncture needle 10, and provides an appropriate resistance to the descent of the guide 200 and at the same time provides a restoring force for returning to its original state after the procedure.

Meanwhile, a disc-shaped elastic body 600 is mounted on the bottom portion 110 of the pillar 105 of the body 100 . The elastic body 600 may be formed of a sponge or the like, and when the guide 200 descends, it may come into contact with the lower portion of the hub 310 to mitigate the impact of the hub 300 directly contacting the bottom portion 110 . Also, since the needle 300 penetrates the elastic body 600 and descends, rapid movement of the needle 300 can be controlled by the elastic body 600 .

Hereinafter, a method of using the false needle having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 .

In the method of using a false needle according to the present embodiment, the guide 200 is lowered within the body 100 by the operator's pressure (S100), and the needle 300 coupled to the guide 200 is moved along with the guide 200. It is composed of a step of descending and contacting the skin of the person to be treated (S200), and a step of returning the guide 200 and the needle 300 to their original positions according to the restoring force of the spring 400 by the release of pressure by the operator (S300).

To describe each step, first, the release paper attached to the adhesive sheet 500 is removed from the handle part 510 and the false needle 10 is placed by attaching the adhesive sheet 500 to the skin of the person to be treated. Subsequently, when the operator presses the pressing part 220 of the guide 200, the guide 200 descends while compressing the spring 400 within the body 100 (S100).

Accordingly, the needle 300 coupled with the hub 310 to the guide 200 also descends and comes into contact with the skin of the person being treated (S200). As a result, a sense of pain is transmitted to the subject.

Then, when the operator cancels the pressing force on the guide 200, the guide 200 rises and returns to its original position due to the elasticity of the pressed spring 400. And the needle 300 is also separated from the skin and returned to its original position (S300). At this time, the guide 200 does not escape from the body 100 because the protruding portion 212 is caught on the hooking portion 122 of the body 100.

The operation of the false needle 10 of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 below.

In FIG. 4 , the false needle 10 from which the release paper is removed is placed on the skin of the person to be treated by contacting the adhesive sheet 500 to the person to be treated.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5 , when the guide 200 descends, the needle 300 also descends. The lower part of the hub 310 comes into contact with the upper part of the elastic body 600, so that the guide 200 receives resistance and stops descending. In an embodiment in which the elastic body 600 is not present, the lower portion of the hub head 314 may be designed to stop descending when the lower portion of the hub head 314 contacts the upper surface of the hub accommodating portion 130 . At this time, the false acupuncture needle 10 is configured so that the needle 300 passes through the bottom 110 of the body 100 from the lower part of the guide 200 and exposes 1.8 mm, so that the needle 300 comes into contact with the skin of the person receiving treatment. but not deeply embedded.

In this state, when the operator removes his/her hand from the guide 200 to release the pressing force, the guide 200 rises together with the needle 300 by the elasticity of the spring 400 and returns to the original position as shown in FIG. 4 .

Since this process is not visible from the outside, neither the person to be treated nor the operator can confirm whether the false acupuncture needle of the present invention is a real needle. As a result, the person to be treated feels a tingling sensation, but the actual needle 300 is not inserted into the skin. Therefore, when using a real needle that has the same appearance as the false needle 10 of the present invention but maintains an inserted state without returning the needle 300 integrally with the guide 200, which needle is actually inserted It is possible to provide a perfect blinding effect because neither the recipient nor the operator can distinguish which needle has not been inserted. As a result, it is possible to implement an accurate double-blind test.

As described above, although it has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to specific embodiments, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the technical idea described in the claims. .

10: false needle 100: body
105: column 110: bottom
112: through hole 114: extension
122: hanging part 130: hub receiving part
200: guide 210: outer wall
212: protruding part 220: pressing part
300: needle 310: hub
312: hub body 314: hub head
400: spring 500: adhesive sheet
510: handle part 600: elastic body

Claims (8)

body;
a guide coupled to the body so as to be movable within the body;
a needle coupled to the guide and moving together with the guide; and
Disposable false needle, characterized in that it comprises a spring coupled to the body and the guide to provide a restoring force to the guide.
The method of claim 1,
Disposable false acupuncture further comprising a hub to which the needle is fixed and coupled to the guide to move integrally with the needle and the guide.
The method of claim 2,
Disposable false acupuncture, characterized in that the body further comprises a hub accommodating portion for accommodating the hub.
The method of claim 3,
Disposable false acupuncture, characterized in that the hub is composed of a hub body and a hub head above the hub body.
The method of claim 1,
Disposable false acupuncture, characterized in that the extension is formed protruding outward in the circumferential direction from the bottom of the body.
The method of claim 1,
A disposable false needle, characterized in that the adhesive sheet is coupled to the bottom of the body.
The method of claim 1,
Disposable false needle, characterized in that it further comprises an elastic body mounted in the body.
A method of using the disposable false needle according to claim 1,
lowering the guide within the body by the operator's pressure;
The needle coupled to the guide descends together with the guide to come into contact with the skin of the person being treated; and
A method of using a disposable false needle, characterized in that it comprises the step of returning the guide and the needle to the original position according to the restoring force of the spring by the operator's release of pressure.

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